WPAB – Chrissy Garwood

It has been a while…

That’s an understatement 🙂

It has been more than a year since my last blog post.

A lot can happen in a year.

I released my first book…

And my second!

And I am in the process of releasing my third title in the series.

So what happened to my weekly posts?

Good question. There are a few reasons I stopped writing. Some of them are understandable, and others took me by surprise. I’m not going to fill this page with the details. I had some challenges to manage, and lessons to learn. But I’m hoping that I have come out the other side and found my online voice again.

What I want to share is why I have been able to make it back.

Once people discover that I have written a book, they ask questions. Some of those questions are tricky. Sometimes, they purchase a book, which leads to more questions. And some of my readers want to discuss the different themes that I have woven into my stories.

Please keep the questions and comments coming. Talking about my books, and finding answers to some of the trickier questions, is making me a better writer. And a stronger person.

That doesn’t mean writing and publishing are getting any easier. I made a rookie mistake that has set the release date for Book 3 back by a few weeks. But Book 4 is already queued into the Editor’s schedule and should return to me for more hard work mid-July. I am hoping to release that one in September.

Where can you get my books? Paperbacks are available from me. The eBook links are on my Facebook author page

When I work out how to add the links to this new version of the program I am using, I will add them here – this is another of those “things” that have changed while I was away 😉

Amazon links here. All three books are “live” here.

Universal Book Links UBL below:
Book 1: White Rose of Promise
Book 2: When Promises are Broken
Book 3: When Freedom is Promised (released June 11)

Talk to you soon,

Chrissy )i(

Chasing Inspiration

Today’s inspiration comes from another long-term project. A few years ago, I set myself a task to create images to go with my Butterfly Prayer House daily blog, with the ambitious goal of one day having designed an image for a verse from every chapter in the Bible. As there are many great inspirational texts, it will take me the rest of my life to fulfil this goal.

Today, I went through my collection and selected some images taken at Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, Australia. I love going to the beach, but not on my own.

I have added a caption below each image to explain the relevance that these Scriptures brought me today as I prepared for my day of writing )i(

Writing a book takes a long time.
I like to swap out the word ‘temple’ in the final line of this text
and replace it with my current project.

This is a good Scripture to describe what happens when writing the manuscript is done,
and the revision and editing stage begins.
I have discovered that it is easier to write the story than
to reach the end of the process of editing.
But the end result is worth the extra effort.

**There comes a time in the writing process**
where taking time to rest and recover
is the best way to keep moving forward.

**There also comes a time when I sit and call out to God for help.**
**There are moments when I know where my characters need to get to**
**but I have trouble writing their journey.**

**Always God answers my prayer for guidance.**
**Not always when I expect Him to, and not often within my time frame,**
**but when I wait patiently, He brings me through the desert**
**to the place where the words flow from me like water from a spring.**

**My stories are about justice, with lots of internal conflict and**
**more than a little bit of trouble for my characters.**
**I am working on my third manuscript in the *River Wild* Series,**
**and so far the stream of inspiration hasn’t failed me.**

I remember sending off my first manuscript *White Rose of Promise (WRoP)*
**for Copy Editing, and my editor told me to get to work on my second manuscript.**
**The first one (WRoP) is still fully engaged in that process,**
**and my second manuscript *When Promises Are Broken* (WPaB)**
**is away with my alpha readers.**
**Meanwhile, I am up to chapter 5 of book three…**

**I have chosen water themes to join together the books in my *River Wild* Series.**
**When I trusted God to give me a clear direction for my writing,**
**I was expecting to come to a satisfactory conclusion to my first story,**
**and then wait on Him for inspiration.**
**I never expected Him to take my characters and build a new story around them,**
**so that I started writing the next episode with all the hard work already done.**

When I take the time, I can find inspiration from wherever God has placed, me, but sometimes it takes me some intentional sitting and waiting before I find the key to what God wants to say.

Do you have a favourite beach or water photo? Or do you get your inspiration from another natural feature?

What matters most

When faced with a blank page I turned to an online devotional page. This week’s post is the result )i(

This morning I sat down and looked at a blank page, wondering what had happened to the promise I made to myself that I would add snippets of interesting information to the draft for this post, ready for my Thursday morning writing session…
The past week has been full of the usual busyness, plus I included a day trip to spend time with a visiting relative, and I was rostered to lead Worship in Church on Sunday, followed by a shared community meal.
Otherwise, every spare minute has been spent hunched over the keyboard typing new words into my soon to be completed first draft for my second manuscript When Promises Are Broken.
The conclusion is in sight, and I can see the happy ever after ending, but there have been some tears this week as I said farewell to one of my favourite characters.

From the blank page, I turned to an online devotion and found this inspiring quote.”As a result, the psalm invites us to reflect on how the life we have been given is a gift from God: for us, and for our good.” (Psalm 16 reflection, Richard Briggs, 9/9/2018.
https://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2018-09-09/The-good-life)

This page also made reference to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is the contemporary term for the 19th Century adage “Count your blessings.” CBT relates to making a conscious decision to look for something positive to focus on to manage difficult situations.
For more information about CBT click on these links
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-cbt
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/treatments-for-anxiety/psychological-treatments-for-anxiety
https://au.reachout.com/articles/cognitive-behavioural-therapy

One of the strategies I employ to keep my personal anxieties in perspective is music. If I find myself unable to concentrate, I turn to YouTube for inspiration. For each of my manuscripts, I collect songs that have relevance for my heroines as they deal with my dramatic settings.
Sometimes memory comes into play, bringing to mind one of my Dad’s favourite old songs. Here is a video link to the one that is playing in my head – I love the surprising choice of images to accompany the song, and one of them includes butterflies…

Count Your Blessings YouTube video

Philippians 4: 4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

One of my digital drawings with overlaid text

One final word and then I will close for the week. Here is a helpful list for those who may struggle to find something to rejoice about: